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Wednesday, 9 January 2013

Debts from Yuletide wrecking homes and lives.

I noted in one of my previous
blogs that “Every New Year’s Eve comes
with a thoughtful reminiscence of how the concluding year has run thus far.”
Just like the New Year’s Eve, January is dubbed a month for deep reflection, when
we recollect our past experiences, bewail our disappointments, applaud our
accomplishments and await the incoming year. Today is specially such a day I put
up two heads like the Janus (the Roman god shown with two faces and for which
January is named). Just like Janus with two faces in opposite direction; one
looking back to the departed year and the other looking forward to the incoming
year, as I became older than I was today, I took a lonely walk down the memory
lane, looking back to the years gone by
and my eyes fixed on the uncertain years ahead. In my sub-consciousness, as I walk
through the hallucinatory, but surreal, images of my life journey thus far, I ended
up in my usual wild and crazy imagination. My wild imagination brought me alive
to something I detest talking about or better put, I speak less about. If there
is anything at all I don’t talk about then it is debt. May be it is because I
hate being indebted (owing money) to someone.

I’m not sure if anyone has noticed how debts incurred during
the Yuletide have been wrecking many homes and lives in Nigeria. It seems unwise
to me that something so prevailing in our society is left unnoticed. Debt can be
a killer when it becomes a spree. It can
divide homes and break marriages. It can lead to hopelessness and even suicide.
Every year Christmas comes with much responsibilities burdened on how shoulders
and expectations in high spirits. But the tip of the iceberg is that most people
live in the delusion of having a perfect Christmas and thus would jump on the
bandwagon trying to put up what can only be described in the mind as perfect (because
there is no perfect Christmas) Christmas. In this delusive mindset most people
end up racking up debts. Some employees will take overdrafts in the hopes of paying
back quickly in January. But January, named after a deity with two heads, comes
with its problems. You never know the hand it deals out to you.

Cases have been reported where ladies took recourse to payday
loans offered by mercenary colleagues in order to shop for classy foreign women
hairs. And some men went on a spree of hiring flashy cars with which to impress
during the season, at the messy of car lending agents who make car borrowing
seem easy and delightful, but sour in January when the reality of debts hit. Those
who do not take on any of the former or latter, but fancy foods always have
readily available supermarkets or stores manned by sharks who provide ridiculous
discounts just to get them shopping, but at their peril. The truth is that people
are being drowned and girdled in debts under our nose with no attention being
paid to the creepy issues. It is only when someone commits suicide or dies in
what is always tagged a-mysterious-way that people show concerns.

A question of interest might be what is my concern in this? I
am really concerned because the older generations are passing on to the younger
generations a demented lifestyle and debt service to grapple with, which will
not fail to create more poverty. I am concerned because the younger generations
in adopting this demented lifestyle and delusion create more ripple and
damaging effects on the generations to follow than their predecessors. I am
also concerned because what is meant to be a season of joy and peace and thus
produce such afterwards is producing depression, family break-ups, and even
suicide given the amassed pressure from the piled up debts.

Now that I have gained my full consciousness, I can say thank
you for the birthday wishes!!!